Ben Affleck to Direct and Produce ‘The Middle Man’ for FOX

Though Ben Affleck is surely in training to put on the cape and cowl for his turn as Bruce Wayne/Batman in the upcoming 'Batman Vs. Superman' movie, the Oscar-winning filmmaker has just lined up his next directorial assignment. The catch is it's for the small screen, as he will be producing and helming the pilot for the new FOX show 'The Middle Man.'

Affleck will also serve as the show's executive producer. A title also shared by showrunner Glenn Gordon Caron, who was previously behind 'Medium' and 'Moonlighting.' As Deadline reports, the show will be set in Boston (no surprise), and will follow "Rudy MacAteer, an FBI agent charged with taking down the Italian mafia, and his confidential informant, Irish-American gangster Mickey Flood. MacAteer’s efforts inadvertently give rise to the Irish mob, as he finds himself bending the laws he is governed by."

A Boston-set crime story should be pretty familiar to the director, as Affleck covered both cops and robbers in his previous films 'Gone Baby Gone' and 'The Town,' but the period setting could make it feel fresh -- even if it reminds of Michael Mann's 'Crime Story' or HBO's 'Boardwalk Empire.' Now that 'The Middle Man' has been picked up by FOX, casting is set to begin immediately with the pilot shooting in early 2014.